Our Director, John Grimshaw, participated in the 2016 Gatsby Plant Science Summer School, part of the Gatsby Plant Science Education Programme at the University of Cambridge.
Based in a relaxed, rural setting near Easingwold, this week-long summer school involves talks from leading scientists, constructive careers sessions, eye-opening practicals and thought-provoking discussions with researchers and peers, aiming to turn some of the UK’s brightest bioscience undergraduates on to a future in plant science.
Eighty first-year undergraduates selected from 26 research-intensive UK universities discovered how plant science can offer world-leading curiosity-driven research as well as help tackle global challenges such as food security, energy needs and climate change and were encouraged to continue their interest by taking second-year plant science courses at their universities.
During their week in North Yorkshire the Gatsby students undertook a practical session in the Yorkshire Arboretum, surveying trees for a hypothetical pest invasion, and recommending responses to it. John spoke to the class on arboretum management, and was interviewed on the subject of conserving and identifying endangered species in botanic gardens.
